Wine is a delicate beverage that must be handled properly to preserve its quality. For centuries, wine has been enjoyed in bottled form, normally sealed with an airtight cork. Once opened, the characteristics of the wine in the bottle begin to change. Almost immediately, the wine begins to oxidize rapidly, degrading the taste and other noticeable qualities of the wine. Since most wines begin to oxidize within minutes of being opened, and many wines are discarded due to the degree of oxidization at the end of each business day, almost all wines are discarded two or three days after opening, regardless of how much wine has been consumed. Wine servers strive to be vigilant to monitor open bottle dates, and discard the wines they serve when quality falls below an acceptable level; restaurants similarly expense wine offerings based on the first and perhaps only glass of wine sold from a bottle. Restaurants thus often limit the number of wines they have available for sale by the glass, and they limit the number of expensive wines sold by the glass, because of the rapid oxidization of wine contained therein once the bottle is opened.
There are a number of known arrangements that seek to preserve wine in an opened bottle which include placing a temporary stopper or seal in the bottle, and evacuating the air from the bottle above the remaining wine. However, these arrangements remove smell (or “nose”) characteristics from the wine during air evacuation. Further, every wine has gas naturally stored within its composition and the vacuum actually draws out those gasses, thereby further affecting the taste and quality of the wine. Other arrangements include placing an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon into the bottle to displace the air. These systems can be used alone or also with a temporary stopper or seal. However, the natural gas composition of the wine is nevertheless affected by adding pressure to the wine, ultimately changing its composition. The relative expense of the argon/nitrogen system, along with the ongoing expense of purchasing additional food-grade argon and nitrogen cartridges, prevents most winery operations or restaurants from purchasing an argon/nitrogen system for each wine it serves or tastes.
Furthermore, wineries and restaurants rarely use such systems effectively during the day for sales by the glass or for wine tastings, but largely utilize these arrangements at closing time. The result is such that wines by the glass do not present themselves well to the consumer, since the quality of the wine in the partially filled bottle rapidly decays.